Personal injury award levels fell by 45% to about €150m last year, Courts Service says
Courts Service's
annual report.
It also notes that new
High Court
planning cases more than doubled and some 25,000 applications concerning protection from domestic violence were filed.
After new laws providing for restraining/antistalking orders came into operation last September, more than 300 applications were received by the end of the year, it shows.
Published on Monday, the annual report for 2024 shows personal injury awards levels reduced by 45 per cent compared to 2023. The number of new cases, at almost 13,000, was down by about 445 on 2023, but 41 per cent down on the almost 22,000 cases lodged in 2019.
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Awards by the High Court, including in medical-negligence cases, fell from €256 million in 2023 to €135 million last year.
Circuit Court awards, capped at €60,000, dropped from €16 million to less than €13 million, and District Court awards fell from €2.2 million to €1.5 million.
The 'most noteworthy' trend in personal injuries in the High Court was, according to the report, the reduced impact of the judicially approved personal injuries guidelines which became operational in April 2021.
While it states the guidelines have not resulted in major increases in personal injuries applications to the District and Circuit Court, the Injuries Resolution Board has noted more cases are coming before and are being finalised by the board.
New cases coming into the High Court's specialised planning and environment list increased to 241 from 108 in 2023. The number of cases finalised was 253, up from 129 in 2023.
The Central Criminal Court imposed 434 prison sentences for rape/attempted rape with 62 per cent of sentences exceeding 10 years. The total included nine life sentences, 261 terms of more than 10 years, 106 of between five and 10 years and 54 of between two and five years.
Among 531 other prison sentences for other sexual offences, there were 109 partly suspended prison sentences, 14 fully suspended and four detention orders for juveniles.
The District Courts received 25,270 new applications for protection under domestic violence law, a drop of more than 700 on the 2023 figure but 23 per cent higher than in 2019.
In the first four months of a new law providing for restraining or antistalking orders coming into operation, 314 applications for such orders were received by the District Courts, with 133 full and 107 interim restraining orders granted.
Supreme Court judge Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne, chair of the Courts Service board, and its chief executive Angela Denning addressed a launch event at Green Street courthouse in Dublin on Monday about the report. The report was presented to the Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, at the event.
It notes continued progress in the service's modernisation programme, such as 165 technologically-enabled courtrooms and improved information for court users.
The report reveals continuing delays in some courts lists, including the Central Criminal Court. While cases on hand there fell 16 per cent last year, they remain 35 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels and the volume of new cases was 40 per cent higher in 2024.
The appointment of additional judges has seen the case-disposal rate increase by 73 per cent over 2019 figures, the report noted.
A 45 per cent rise over two years in applications for supervision and care orders for children is reported with 21,684 new applications last year, up from 17,583 in 2023. The figures include multiple applications and orders.
Other trends include a 16.5 per cent reduction in drugs cases in the District Court over six years while larceny/fraud/robbery cases show a 15.3 per cent increase year on year and public order and assault cases an increase of almost 10 per cent year on year.
About 184,000 new road traffic offences came before the District Courts last year, an increase of more than 8 per cent year on year but marking an overall 18 per cent reduction over six years.
There were 5,004 divorce applications last year, down from 5,218 in 2023 and 5,551 in 2022.
The report shows last year was another busy period for the courts, with more than 574,000 civil and criminal cases and appeals incoming, the vast bulk coming before the District Courts.
More than 390,158 criminal matters and appeals were incoming while new civil case numbers across all courts increased to 184,000, reflecting a continuing trend with case numbers now 31 per cent above the 2021 level.
New possession cases regarding property rose to 1,135 from 1,091 in 2023, but the number of possession orders granted by the Circuit Court fell to 141 from 212 in 2023.
There were 22,584 new debt-recovery cases, marking a 31 per cent increase over two years.
Sixty new cases sought forfeiture of property alleged to represent proceeds of crime, up from 43 in 2023. There were 89 company wind-up applications, up from 44 in 2023, with more than one in three presented by Revenue.
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